Chapter 47: Control

"Speaking of which, Officer Chiba had previously met this Akikawa."

Detective Chiba Kazunobu heard Conan's words and looked towards Akikawa Kyousuke across the room.

Then a surprised expression appeared on his face.

"Isn't that Akikawa Kyousuke, the victim of that previous car accident on the national highway?"

"If it's him, given his experience, it would indeed be impossible for him to be in the situation Miss Sera just described."

To protect Akikawa Kyousuke's privacy, Chiba Kazunobu refrained from mentioning the previous incident in detail.

However, the words of a senior officer from the Metropolitan Police Department carried considerable weight.

"As for what I just said, the evidence on-site."

"Everyone, please look—"

As Sera Masumi spoke, she approached the laundry room door.

Here, on the doorknob, there were very clear blood-stained palm prints.

"Inspector Megure, could I ask the forensics officer to investigate the fingerprints on both sides of the door?"

Inspector Megure nodded, then glanced at the detective behind him, giving a slight nod with his thick chin.

The forensic officer understood, donned white gloves, and took out powder for fingerprint detection along with luminol to reveal blood stains, approaching the door.

A few moments later, the forensic detective reported:

"Although there were palm prints on the inside door handle, no fingerprints were found."

"Additionally, it appears that the hand held the handle too tightly. Blood stains covered the palm prints, leaving no distinct print."

"The outer door handle had been cleaned, with no fingerprints found or luminol reactions."

The detective's response brought a look of disappointment to Mouri Kogoro, Chiba Kazunobu, and others.

However, Conan and Sera Masumi's expressions remained unchanged.

"Excuse me, is there any smearing on the palm prints on the inner door handle?"

"No, the palm prints are not smeared. It seems to have been touched only once, without repeated handling or deliberate smudging."

"Just as I expected."

Sera Masumi remarked, then looked towards the cleaner, the first person to discover the crime scene.

"You mentioned earlier that when you found the body, the laundry room door was open, correct?"

"Yes," the cleaner nodded.

"I was too frightened to go in."

"Then, what exactly are you trying to say?"

Mouri Kogoro felt a bit impatient, urging her to explain quickly.

But his insistence met a blank stare from Inspector Megure.

"You, a well-known detective—don't you feel embarrassed being compared to a child the same age as your daughter?"

"I'm just giving the newcomers a chance to shine," Mouri Kogoro replied awkwardly.

"The outer door handle was clearly not blood-stained, but it was wiped clean.

"Yet, the inner door handle had obvious blood stains and was not cleaned."

"This indicates that the killer had the chance to deal with traces when they first entered the laundry room."

"Perhaps they directly touched the door handle, or the victim did from the outside."

"In any case, they must have made the decision to kill in advance. To avoid leaving evidence, they wiped the marks on the outer door handle as they entered."

"In other words, this wasn't a spur-of-the-moment act; it was premeditated murder."

Sera Masumi narrowed her single dark green eye.

"According to the first witness, she could see the body from outside the door."

"In this case, wouldn't it be unreasonable to leave the door open?"

"The body should be discovered as late as possible, yet they left the door open. This can only mean one thing—"

"Something unexpected happened, forcing the killer to flee the scene in a hurry."

"At the same time, the bloody palm prints on the inner door handle also demonstrate this."

"The outer door handle was clearly not stained with blood, yet the killer wiped it down."

"There were clear bloody palm prints on the inner handle, but they were left untouched."

"This can only mean that the killer was so panicked when leaving that they didn't even bother to clean the inner handle."

Hearing Sera's pure reasoning, everyone around her suddenly understood.

"That makes sense. No wonder, Miss Sera, you just asked if the palm print on the inner door handle was smeared."

"The outer handle was clearly clean, yet the killer still wiped it, showing a cautious personality."

"But they gripped the inner handle once with a bloody hand and didn't clean it—this shows the killer panicked!"

Chiba Kazunobu finally understood. He looked at Sera Masumi with deep admiration.

This high school detective in front of him—

But before the forensic detective verified the fingerprints and palm prints, she had already deduced all of this!

"Returning to the original topic, by observing the wounds on the deceased's head and Akikawa's, we can see that Akikawa's injuries are much fresher than the deceased's."

"This reveals the reason the killer fled the scene."

"In other words, after killing the victim, Akikawa accidentally witnessed it."

"So, in a panic, he struck Akikawa with the murder weapon. He didn't have time to confirm if Akikawa was dead and fled the scene in haste."

"This indirectly shows that the force he used against Akikawa was likely the amount he believed would kill him."

"In such an urgent situation, he absolutely wouldn't have had time to dispose of the murder weapon, and the killer must still be in the theater."

"Once we find the murder weapon and confirm who lacks an alibi at the time of the deceased's death, we'll be able to identify the killer."

Sera's straightforward words filled everyone present with confidence in an instant.

Everyone looked at Sera Masumi in admiration.

In comparison, "Sleeping Kogoro," the great detective beside her, appeared somewhat overshadowed.

——

"You're indeed a detective; very clever."

In the laundry room, Akikawa Kyousuke couldn't help but sigh inwardly while listening to Sera's logical reasoning.

To Akikawa Kyousuke, intelligent people were far easier to control than fools.

There was no need to worry about them acting unpredictably.

As long as you give the questions, they will certainly provide the one correct answer.

Conan is like that, and so is Sera Masumi.

Akikawa Kyousuke knows he is far from intelligent in this world where detectives are the protagonists.

But he calmly uses his own weaknesses and the detectives' confidence in their reasoning to precisely control the thoughts of these intelligent people.

"Compared to me saying it directly, what they deduce is always more convincing."

Akikawa Kyousuke whispered to himself, knowing it was time to act.

"I know that Mr. Nishihara covered up all elements of his crime."

"Now, it's time to let the detectives uncover the new motive, murder weapon, and alibi I carefully prepared for Mr. Nishihara."

"Ahem."

Akikawa Kyousuke coughed painfully, successfully drawing everyone's attention in the room.

---

Crime Elements:

Motive: Refers to the reason or motivation of a suspect to commit a criminal act, revealing why the suspect would carry it out.

Weapon: Refers to the tool or weapon used to commit a crime.

Alibi: An attempt to prove that a suspect was not at the crime scene when the crime occurred.

(Fin)